The Debutante Ball Welcomes Lena Roy! Contest!

The Debutante Ball is delighted to welcome Léna Roy for a turn around the floor. This week, Léna joins the Debs in talking about balance.

Léna Roy was raised in NYC, in the cloistered environs of a theological seminary, with extracurricular education provided by Manhattan’s club scene. When not writing, she’s worked as a bartender, an actor, and with at-risk adolescents in Utah, California and NYC. She now lives with her husband and three children in Northern Westchester. Edges is her first novel.

Stay tuned after Léna’s guest post for information on how you can win a copy of Edges!

Balance, a beautiful word. I love how the flat “a” sound sandwiches the “l”. Balance is a condition that I am constantly striving for, so it is eerily appropriate that I get to write about it for my guest post!

Balance: to make items weigh up, to make concepts agree, to be in equilibrium .

How do all of the pieces of our worlds fit together? And how do we keep our center when one entity demands more attention than the other, tipping the scale? I think that we all have more than enough to juggle – I have my family, a new transition from the city to a small town, house renovations, teaching, writing, and making my debut as a novelist! In fact, I could probably write a novella about all of this, so I will focus on psychic balance, as that is what I need to keep everything else from spinning out of control.

Indeed, this is a theme at the heart of Edges as we watch two teens deal with the fall-out from addiction, Luke: running from his alcoholic father, Ava: trying to make sense of her own alcohol dependence. Striving for psychic balance is another way of striving for some kind of faith, whether it’s in God, or yourself. The contrasting landscapes are an important feature in their search for picking up their missing pieces.

Many of us do not have lives that are affected by addiction, but we all have that yearning for wholeness in common with Luke and Ava. I know that I do.

It’s incredibly nerve-wracking, waiting for the birth of a book, and of myself as an “author”. Being published is only the first step – we also have to be proactive about getting books into the hands of readers! I have vacillated between excitement and anxiety, hoping to get to a Zen place of non-attachment. Equilibrium.

These past few weeks, gearing up for my book’s birthday, I have been writing letters to God every morning, asking my Higher Power to be with me on this rollercoaster ride. Taking that action daily has helped me to stay focused on gratitude, and letting go of the results of the fruits of my labors, of things that I can’t control.

And of course, working on the next project! I have two completed manuscripts now, both ready for another round of revision. Writing is the best way I know of to keep my thinking in balance. My psyche learns how to adjust itself through playing with language, and knowing that I only improve with daily practice.

What a gorgeous way to wrap up our week of balance, Léna! Thank you for coming by.

Edges is astory of love and grief, addiction and redemption, set in both NYC’s Upper West Side and in the red rock desert of Moab, Utah. More information is available at Léna’s site. You can read about the inspiration for Edges in her gorgeous author statement!

Léna is giving away a copy of Edges – just leave a comment to enter (be sure to include your e-mail address!). Talk about what balance means to you, or just say hello!

Thank you so much Eleanor for inviting me to guest post! I really do feel better now that the launch is over – it’s out of my hands! I am sure that you will feel the same way come late January, when I can’t wait to curl up with a copy of YOUR book!

You seem very centered about everything, Lena, which is wonderful. I’m not there yet, but I’m working on it. I’m curious — your two finished manuscripts — did you write them before “Edges”? During? After? (I ask because now that my debut is at ARC stage and 90% wrapped up, I’m obsessing about follow-up options… “obsessing” in a very calm, balanced way 🙂 )

“Edges” sounds wonderful, and I can’t wait to read it. Thanks so much for coming to the Ball!

Hi Elise! I’m so glad that I was invited! Striving for centeredness doesn’t mean that I always am! It just means that I work hard for it! There was two and a half years between the time when my agent called me and told me that FSG wanted the book and publication! So I had lots of time to set the wheels turning on other projects – but both still need more simmering! I hope to send one off to my agent at the end of the month . . . we’ll see!

That cover are is a Siren’s call to pick up and start reading that book. Congrats – and I’m taking a moment to channel your sense of balance to add a bit to my own lopsided life. Good luck to everyone who enters the contest. KIM